Surprise, surprise
by Gustock
Summary: <html><head></head>Fluffly one-shot. It's their first anniversary, set in Venice. Vauseman cuteness and banter.</html>


"Where are we going?"

Alex sighs, dramatically.

"Seriously, fifth time you ask. You need like, anxiety pills or something."

"Hey!" Protests Piper. "I'm blindfolded and trusting _you_ to walk me around. Like how do I know you're not going to hang an anchor around my neck and dump me into the Grand Canal to drown?

"I think the anchor would probably break your neck first, so you wouldn't drown."

"Oh yeah, that's comforting."

"Don't be ridiculous, Pipes, I wouldn't that. There is always some scuba diver that finds those bodies. I'm not stupid."

"Okay, I'm taking the blindfold off-"

"No, you're not. We're almost there." Alex stops her hands midair but Piper doesn't fight because that's when she hears the music. They _are_ close. And a second later, she recognizes the song and smiles instantly as she starts jumping from one foot to the other.

"Oh, oh, I love that song!"

She feels Alex's breath in her ear as she whispers, "I know you do, Pipes." It comes out incredibly cute and warm, and Piper can't help but blush. She leans her head in Alex's shoulder for a second, just breathing her in.

"What did you do?" she says in an accusatory tone, playful. It's _so_ Alex, to make this kind of surprisingly spontaneous and romantic grand gestures, usually to make up for not being around much, but this time Piper was even more shocked because they already_ were_ in the middle of one of her spontaneous, romantic, grand gestures.

They had been in Berlin, where they had spent almost a month in which Piper had barely seen Alex, swamped as she was in work. Leaving before she woke up, getting back when she was already sleep. But two days ago, Alex had woken Piper up in the middle of the night to inform her that they were leaving for Venice in 3 hours, and to pack her bags for a week. Needless to say, Piper was thrilled. For the chance to see Venice for the first time, the excitement of the trip seeping through her pores, how good it felt to be back on the road, but most importantly, Alex. She missed her so much. She missed her too much. It always made her feel angry how dependent she was of her, but cities were not half as fun if she didn't have the chance to enjoy them with her. And honestly, she was sick of Berlin. It was too tainted already with her absence.

So here they were, Venice: charming, beautiful, quiet, romantic. It was perfect and she had Alex all to herself, at least for a week. She was happy and more than satisfied, and now _this. This. This woman it's just too much. _

"I wanted to give you a surprise." She says in a somewhat surprised tone. She pauses, looks at Piper, whose eyes are still hidden by the blindfold and when it hits her, she continues. "And you have no idea why, don't you?" Alex is looking at her with a mixture of shock and indecision in her eyes, but Piper can't see her.

"Uhm… Should I?" Alex's tone makes her nervous, and her mind starts racing trying to make sense of what Alex means. They reach an open space before she can think of anything, Piper can tell from the wind that's ruffling her hair and the music is louder, closer. But somehow she knows there's no one around. They're alone. One of Alex's favorite is playing now.

"How did you do this?" she asks instead, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Can you like _actually buy_ a public space?"

Alex chuckles at her girlfriend's naivety. "Of _course_ not. You pay for them for like the night. Events and stuff."

"WHAT?! Alex! That must have cost a shit ton of money, this is Venice!"

"I know right? Totally worth it."

"Smug little shit-" But Alex spins her around and interrupts her with a kiss.

One hell of a kiss. One of those kisses you know mean something, the kind you'll be thinking about when you go to bed at night, the kind of kiss that makes you fall in love all over again and Piper's mind shuts down, all of her senses completely committed to the moment. Alex runs her hands down her back, making her shiver, and then squeezes her ass. Piper hisses, gets closer, runs her tongue over Alex's lips and it's _so good_ to have her all to herself again, to be like a _fucking_ couple again, that spends time together and has these kind of moments all to themselves without the possibility of a phone interrupting it all or a meeting looming closer.

Just them. Just Alex.

After an eternity or maybe just a second (Piper can't tell) Alex breaks the kiss and Piper realizes she's clinging to her, arms draped around her neck, bodies pressed together. She pulls away and they're both breathing hard but she doesn't have time to say or do anything because Alex spins her back around and as she removes the blindfold she whispers in her ear, "Happy anniversary, Pipes."

The blindfold falls to the ground and Piper gasps for a whole different reason now. She recognizes where they are, Piazza San Marco with the Grand Canal right in front of them, but it looks completely different now with lights hanging from posts placed strategically so they illuminate the space. It all revolves around a small table right in the middle, with candles and plates and glasses of wine already served and there's an even smaller table a little to the left, that's where the music is coming from. It looks completely beautiful but Piper's mind is stuck in one word.

"Wh-what? Anniversary? Is this a joke?" Alex adjusts her glasses nervously. "Please tell me I didn't forget our anniversary, Alex." She arches an eyebrow and Piper's knees are shaking. "Oh, Jesus. I am the worst girlfriend ever, I'm so so so so-"

"So you did _actually forget our anniversary?"_ Piper looks at her biting her lip, feeling completely disgusted with herself but Alex looks more amused than anything and Piper quickly begins rambling, trying to keep her amused instead of angry.

"I-I'm so sorry I swear I don't even- God, I- I don't- I, _Jeez_-" Piper's shaking her head, cradling it with her hands unable to look at her girlfriend who went to such lengths for her and she didn't even _remember._

"Woah, woah, calm down, kid." She says, laughing at Piper's outburst as she pulls her hands away from her face and lifts her chin with a slender finger. "For the record, you suck." Piper looks like she's about to cry and tries to look away but Alex keeps her face up, staring at her intently and continues. "But I'm not completely irrational, so… What's your excuse?" She folds her arms and takes a step back, eyebrows raised.

Piper is practically sweating by now, trying to figure out what to say, how to not screw this up even more. She has no idea how this happened. She used to think about it, way before, in terms of _Will we get there? How will we be like by then? Will Alex think is a big deal? _But it was purely theoretical and it seemed so far away that it didn't even seem real. It's not like she never thought they would make it, but- _Has it really been a year already?_, she founds herself thinking. It didn't feel like a year at all, that's what has her really confused but most importantly she realizes she had completely let herself go. It didn't seem important to keep track of the days. It was meaningless considering she had nowhere to be. She called home from time to time but wasn't actually worried about missing dates since all of her family's birthdays were pretty much around the same time, in February. And they were in… July? _I guess so._ _Jesus fucking Christ. _Being with Alex was completely consuming. She wasn't even sure when was the last time she called home. Was it a two weeks ago? No, no, her dad had said something about a work trip at the end of… June? Everything in her brain was kind of mashed up, except for Alex. She knew exactly when was the last time she had woken up to find her still there, when Alex had taken her out to dinner, when was the last time they had got drunk and fucked all night long. Everything about Alex was completely clear in her mind. _Except for the most important thing. _That_ you had to forget. Great._

_I need to get my shit together, _she thinks How could she forget their anniversary?

"I have no idea what happened, I could have sworn we were still in May, Al." She flinches when she hears herself. It's such a lame excuse, but she's got nothing else. Her brain is completely blank.

"Well then." Alex looks kind of offended and disappointed but the amusement is the biggest emotion on her face. She remains quiet. But of course Piper can't stand the silence so she steps up, filling the space between them and buries her face in Alex's chest, arms wrapping around her neck, a whimper leaving her mouth.

"This is so beautiful and sweet and you're the best and I suck. I would totally understand if you broke up with me right now and left me stranded here in Venice and threw my clothes through the hotel window like in the movies and all that stuff and-"

"_Shit_." Alex says and laughs like she can't help it, finally hugging Piper back and placing a kiss on the top of her head. "If I say I forgive you, will you stop talking?"

"Only if you mean it." Says Piper, her voice muffled.

"Okay, well." A dramatic sigh. "I don't know how I will _ever _forget this, Piper. I guess you're just gonna have to work really hard from now on." Nodding, lips pursed, a smile trying to make its way on her lips, Alex knows she can't stay mad at Piper. Those bambi eyes always manage to sneak their way into her heart. Although it is kind of discouraging and disappointing that she would forget something as important as their anniversary, she has to admit that Piper's been great with her job lately, barely giving her any trouble for not being around much. But she could feel her patience running low and Alex knows that she can't really hold this against her, not when she's gone so long, the guilt propelling her to forgive Piper way sooner than she could have in a different situation. Anyway, she was never one to hold grudges and it didn't make sense to ruin this night, not when they have so little time to themselves and especially not _tonight._

Piper senses the change in her girlfriend's attitude and looks up at her, a weak smile playing on her lips at first. Then, slowly, a grin replaces it and after a second she's placing lingering kisses down her neck.

"I'm so sorry, Al, you'll see. I'll _show you_ just _how sorry _I am. I'll think of something." She whispers.

"I guess you can make it up to me later, if you're feeling so guilty." Whispers back Alex, hotly in her ear. Piper can hear the smile on her voice and is about to reach up to kiss her when she pulls away, with a smug grin on her face. "Come on, just say I'm the best girlfriend ever and then you can have dinner. It's going to get cold."

"You're definitely in the top one-hundred." Alex throws her head back and laughs.

"You have no idea, kid."

She takes Piper's hand and guides her to the table. They sit and Alex smiles and winks at Piper. The food looks great and they start eating right away. The music keeps playing all of their favorite songs and Alex mouths the lyrics to the song, watching her intently. Piper smiles back but turns her head to watch the lights reflect on the water and the boats and gondolas aligned not too far away from them. It's completely breathtaking. It feels like they're completely alone, one of the most beautiful cities in the world all to themselves. There's wind but the night is warm and Piper feels like she's never been happier and she's never had such a perfect night even after her unforgiving mistake because _I've never loved anyone like I love her,_ she thinks. Piper's head whips around to look at Alex, terrified that she might actually have voiced that aloud but Alex is looking at her calmly, smiling, and she arches an eyebrow at the sight of her panicking eyes.

"Something wrong?" she asks with a teasing voice.

And Piper's first response in panic, as always, is the rambling. "N-no, no, nothing wrong, everything's perfect, I-I really like this, this thing you did, it's really sweet. You're really sweet, Al." Piper feels her cheeks reddening and she's looking everywhere but at her. _What the fuck is wrong with you,_ she thinks. It's completely ridiculous and embarrassing and _jeez, calm down, she'll notice._

And of course she did, because when Piper finally gathers the courage to look back up, Alex is wearing that smug grin and knowing eyes.

"What?" Asks Piper, her tone almost sharp and she flinches. _Smooth._

Alex grins even wider and she takes a sip form her glass. "What were you thinking? Was it something dirty? Oh, I love how your mind is always in the gutter, Pipes."

"Hey, my mind is _not_ always in the gutter." She blushes even more as she tries to think on something to say. Finally she just looks away and mumbles, "_Your_ mind is always in the gutter."

Alex scoffs, unimpressed and keeps prodding. "Come on, Pipes, I promise I won't laugh."

"Bullshit."

"Alright, maybe just a little. A small laugh." She gestures with her index and thumb. "But come one, the least you could do when you forgot our first anniversary is try to make me laugh." She says and then adds, with a devilish grin on her face, "You know, to ease the pain in my soul, that gaping hole you left with your indifference."

"Jesus."

Alex puts on a serious face. "Is it too much?" she gestures with her hand at her surroundings.

"No! No, of course not, is perfect, Al." says Piper hurriedly.

"I know." She grins again.

"Oh my god."

"C_ome. On_, Piper." She says, stressing every word and looks expectantly at her, waiting for a response. Piper sighs.

"I was just thinking that… I love you."

Alex scoffs. "That's it? _Boring._"

"Asshole." But she smiles and Alex smiles back. She suddenly stands up and heads for the stereo. She pushes a few buttons and a new song starts playing. Well, not _new_, actually. The familiar trumpets fill the air and Piper throws her head back and laughs.

"Seriously?"

Alex turns around and is still smiling as she approaches Piper, her hand stretched out for her girlfriend to take.

"Come on, kid."

"Are you sure?" Piper asks but takes her hand and stands nonetheless. "What will this do to your reputation if someone sees you, Alex?

"Shut up and dance with me."

Piper smiles, happy, wraps her arms around Alex's waist and rests her head on her chest as they start moving slowly in circles. Alex is running her thumbs on her back with her cheek on the top of Piper's head, and it feels so good, it feels so right.

It feels like home.

_Hold me close and hold me fast_

_The magic spell you cast_

_This is la vie en rose._

"You are the cheesiest asshole in this whole world." She pulls back just enough to look her in the eyes and continues. "Happy anniversary, Alex."

"And you are the most ungrateful dumbass I've ever met." She's looking at her with the happiest smile Piper's ever seen on her and when she softly kisses the tip of her nose, Piper thinks her insides might have just melted. "And I love you too."

* * *

><p>AN: I'm really hoping for some cute Vauseman scenes in season 3, like Pre-Paris. I NEED IT. So, this is the result, hope you like it, guys :)

If you could take the time to write a review it'd be great!

Love, C.


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